Military Diplomacy

Advancing Toward the Front Lines of War! Chinese Peacekeeping Soldiers Demonstrate Great-Power Responsibility Through Action

逆行战火前沿！中国维和军人用实际行动诠释大国担当

PLA Daily (解放军报) 17 May 2026

Summary

A PLA media report highlights operational activities by three Chinese UN peacekeeping detachments—a multi-functional engineer unit in Lebanon conducting unexploded ordnance disposal during the Lebanon-Israel conflict, a helicopter detachment in Abyei conducting armed aerial patrols and casualty evacuations, and an engineer detachment in South Sudan performing airfield repair and maintenance in extreme heat. The piece is a domestic propaganda product framing these deployments under the concept of 'great-power responsibility,' signaling that Beijing continues to leverage UN peacekeeping operations as a venue for projecting a responsible-power image while gaining operational experience for PLA units in austere, conflict-adjacent environments. The report contains no new order-of-battle or capability information beyond what is publicly known about China's standing UN troop contributions.

Translation

Those Who Advance Toward the Front Lines of War

■ Wu Qiong, Wei Jingjing; Illustration: Ma Lingchen

As the Lebanon-Israel conflict escalated, officers and soldiers of China's peacekeeping multi-functional engineer detachment deployed to Lebanon risked their lives to manually destroy unexploded rockets, successfully helping friendly forces resolve a security crisis.

With the situation in the Abyei region tense and complex, officers and soldiers of China's peacekeeping helicopter detachment remained on full-time standby, urgently executing missions including armed aerial patrol and casualty evacuation.

South Sudan lies near the equator, where the sun is brutal. China's peacekeeping engineer detachment was ordered to undertake airport repair and maintenance tasks. Officers and soldiers operated to a high standard in temperatures exceeding 50°C, delivering "Chinese quality" (中国质量) workmanship to ensure the airport's safe operation.

Across conflict zones around the world, Chinese peacekeeping soldiers hold their posts, advancing toward the front lines of war, carrying out multiple missions including demining and explosive ordnance disposal, engineering assistance and construction, and medical relief. Through their actions, they demonstrate great-power responsibility (大国担当) and with their bodies of flesh and blood erect a barrier of peace.

Scan the QR code to watch the report from CCTV's National Defense and Military Channel.

Original Chinese

战火前沿的逆行者 ■武琼魏静静制图：马凌晨黎以冲突升级，中国赴黎巴嫩维和多功能工兵分队官兵冒着生命危险，人工销毁未爆火箭弹，成功帮助友军解除安全危机。阿卜耶伊地区局势紧张复杂，中国维和直升机分队官兵全时待命，紧急执行空中武装巡逻、伤员后送等任务。南苏丹临近赤道，阳光毒辣，中国维和工兵分队受命担负机场修缮任务。官兵在超过50℃的高温环境中高标准作业，打造“中国质量”工程，保障机场安全运行。在全球一个个战乱地区，中国维和军人坚守岗位，逆行战火前沿，担负扫雷排爆、工程援建、医疗救助等多项任务，用实际行动诠释大国担当，用血肉之躯筑起和平屏障。扫描二维码，观看央视国防军事频道报道